By Matt Aveni
Every summer sports fans across the nation are engaged in baseball pennant races; whether it is Red Sox verse the Yankees, Rangers verse the Angels, Dodgers verse the Giants or even the Mets faltering after the trade deadline.
If the baseball pennant races are not intriguing, football is around the corner with the New York Jets stealing the show from the defending Super Bowl Champions the New York Giants, and the Green Bay Packers MVP, Aaron Rodgers.
However, this summer was unlike most; the 2012 Olympic Games in London brought excitement to many Americans, whether they are sports fans or not. There is something about the Olympics that makes everyone watch. It might be Michael Phelps chasing history, and finding a new rival in fellow American, Ryan Lochte. Still, Phelps accomplished every man or woman’s dream of being the all-time Olympic medals leader with twenty-two medals, eighteen of which are gold.
USA’s men’s and women’s basketball team stole the show with not only beating the other teams, but stamping their names as two of the best basketball teams in Olympic history. They are stars not only in America, but worldwide. Everyone knows the names of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Diana Taurasi, but it is what these Olympians did off the court that made them true Americans. These athletes would not only go watch, but they would encourage and cheer as their fellow Americans compete in events.
Gabby Douglas is one American gold Medalist who is arguably the best gymnast of her generation. She still does not have her driver’s license, but she brought home the gold in both individual and team all-around competitions. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings are another pair and together they won their third straight gold medal in beach volleyball, and it might be their last run together in their sport.
No one can forget Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt winning the men’s 100 meter and 200 meter races still maintaining his status as the world’s fastest man. Also, Oscar Pistorius from South Africa who became the first double amputee to race in the Olympics.
The stories of the 2012 Olympic Games can go on, but what is it that makes many Americans stay up to watch these athletes compete on a world wide scale?
Could it be that 10,000 of the world’s greatest athletes compete in a seventeen day haul to be crowned in London as the best in their sport, or even the fact that many of the athletes struggle to pay rent and live off of the endorsements and donations they receive just to live every child’s dream and compete? It might be fighting for your country, family, and you pride that makes you put it all out on the line in front of the whole world.
There is one thing that everyone could agree with, the Olympics is one of the most exciting seventeen days in sports; it makes the not so everyday stars have their moment of glory where not a single thing can bring them down. The fight, struggle, and work ethic make the Olympics everything it is and every four years the world watches with pride for their country.